Art as a Social System

Beschreibung

Beschreibung

This is the definitive analysis of art as a social and perceptual system by Germany's leading social theorist of the late 20th century. It combines three decades of research in the social sciences, phenomenology, evolutionary biology, cybernetics, and information theory with an intimate knowledge of art history, literature, aesthetics, and contemporary literary theory.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface; 1. Perception and communication: the reproduction of forms; 2. Observation of the first and of the second order; 3. Medium and form; 4. The function of art and the differentiation of the art system; 5. Self-organization: coding and programming; 6. Evolution; 7. Self-description; Notes; Index.

Portrait

Niklas Luhmann was Professor of Sociology at the University of Bielefeld. Among his books translated into English are "Social Systems" (Stanford, 1995), "Observations on Modernity" (Stanford, 1998), and "Love as Passion: The Codification of Intimacy" (Stanford paperback, 1998).